About this blog

Greetings from New York. My name is Ed, but my EB username right now is Captain Controversy. Why, you ask? Because I unintentionally stir up a lot of controversies. Before I begin with the first entry of this blog, perhaps y'all should know more about me.

Name: Ed O.

Location: NY

Years active in the LFC: 2

Years building apparatus (before posting it places): 2, so total of 4 years experience.

Occupation: Firefighter/explorer

How I became interested in firefighting: My father is a 26 year veteran of the fire service

There is almost always one controversy or another at any given moment within the LFC. They are caused by multitudes of reasons. All of these reasons will be discussed, and all of them broken down in to DDIY (Don't Do It Yourself) strategies to not causing controversies. Trust me, I know how to not cause a controversy, considering I usually start most of 'em. But I know why they were started.

Writing something or posting something (such as some sort of deal or agreement) that the other part(ies) never actually agreed to.

Using the name of someone else's department or pretending to be someone else.

Part 3:Avoiding Controversies

In this part, we will look at how to not be involved in a controversy. The stuff below follows along with the list above.

1. First of all, try to come up with as many original designs as possible. If you absolutely must use someone else's design, make sure to ask before and credit after. This means that before you plan on using someone's design, ask first to make sure you have permission. There are "community designs" that pretty much everyone uses, but don't copy a whole cab or truck design. Also, make sure you include in your post credits, so that people don't think you used someone else's design without permission. If you purchase a truck, make sure that you say who sold it to you. If you don't credit, and somebody recognizes the other person's design, sometimes people can... (trying to think of how to put this lightly)... lose their stuff. A crucial part of the LFC is that most people can tell who designed most trucks just by looking at the apparatus and without even looking at the author's name, so keep that in mind.

2/3. Two and three pretty much go right together like peanut butter and jelly. As well as four/five, but I'll get to that in a minute. First, don't say stuff that'll offend people and anger them. Don't call someone a bad builder, or say that your trucks are better than theirs. People get really angry over stuff like that. Also, don't curse. There are a lot of young members in the LFC, and community leaders really crack down on it. Also, if you get in trouble for something, don't point fingers. Nobody likes a battle of he-said she-said. Just don't offend anyone, and nobody should offend you.

4/5. Four and five are cake, and the frosting that goes on top. If someone says something along the lines of "this is okay, but..." or "I think you should do this to improve...," they're not trying to be mean or impose their methods upon you. They are trying to help you improve. I will not mention the name of the user, but one time said user flipped on me for offering advice. Don't do that. Because then nobody's going to want to help you because they know you'll get mad at them. Don't tell somebody that your rigs are better than theirs because they are trying to help. If they see the flaws in your rigs, chances are you're only better at pissing people off. If they weren't as good as you, then why would they be able to see your flaws? That's like if Person A didn't know anything about cars, and Person B knew what was wrong with A's car, and instead of accepting help, said that his knowledge was better than B, that makes no sense. I mean, how are you suddenly the best or most knowledgeable when people offer help?

6. Don't use people's photos without permission. Although it's not exactly illegal to steal a LEGO design, it is illegal (at least where I live) to use someone's photos without permission, no matter what. People get very angry about this. Also, don't use other people's videos without permission. Someone stole my YouTube videos once, and the process to get the videos as rightfully mine nearly went to Hell and back. People get sued for using other people's stuff. I'll leave it at that.

7. Don't write about people without their permission. Don't say stuff life "John and Jane Doe signed this" or did that when one of the people did not agree. It causes many people to become quite angry. You'll pretty much be shunned by the community, and people will refuse to even contact you because they believe that you may write something about them. You can write about people, just don't say that you and them did something when you didn't.

8. Don't pretend to be other people. Don't use their department name without permission. That's called Identity Theft (the being other people part), and is highly illegal. That's pretty much all there is to say. Using their department name isn't illegal, but will usually land you in very hot water. If you want cold water, then create your own name or use their name, but don't copy their rigs and pretend to be that department. Need I say more?